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Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Monmouth Public Library | J Fic Hilmo, T. 2016 | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
On the same day as the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, 250 miles away in Peshtigo, Wisconsin, there was an even more devastating fire. Twelve-year-old Ailis and her younger brother, Quinn, survive, but their family does not. Ailis and Quinn are taken by a family acquaintance to live in a boarding house in Chicago, where they meet six-year-old Nettie, an orphan displaced by Chicago's fire. But the woman who runs the boarding house makes their lives miserable, and Ailis vows to find a way for the three of them to leave. Ailis finds a job at a millinery shop and Quinn plays his fiddle on the streets so they can save money. Then Nettie disappears, and Ailis and Quinn discover she's been kidnapped by a group that forces children to work in the sewers killing rats. Can they find a way to rescue her? CINNAMON MOON is Tess Hilmo's riveting story of friendship and finding home.
A Margaret Ferguson Book
Author Notes
Tess Hilmo is the author of Skies like These , an Amazon Best Book of the Month, and With a Name like Love , an ABA/ABC New Voices Pick. She lives in Highland, Utah.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-7-On October 8, 1871, two great fires roared through Peshtigo, WI, and Chicago, destroying families, homes, and lives. Ailis, 12, and Quinn, 11, lost their parents and their baby sister in Peshtigo. When Mr. Olsen, the powerful former president of the Union Pacific Railroad Company, offers to bring them to his boardinghouse in Chicago, they accept. At the boardinghouse, they meet Nettie, a precocious, hen-loving six-year-old orphan who shares a small closet with Ailis. While Nettie goes to school, Ailis and Quinn are forced to clean the boardinghouse each day by Miss Franny, the caretaker. Miss Franny hates the Irish and takes her anger out on Ailis and Quinn. Determined to escape, Ailis creates a way for her and Quinn to leave during the day and work to save money. Just as they are settling in, though, Nettie suddenly disappears. Desperate to find her, Ailis and Quinn search all over Chicago, but it is only with the support and aid of their friends that they can save her. As in Hilmo's previous works (With a Name Like Love and Skies Like These), the relationships between characters subtly highlight themes such as overcoming discrimination, handling grief, and being true to oneself. Hilmo's setting abounds with historically rich details that give depth to the characters and keep the plot moving quickly. VERDICT A compelling read about two lesser-known historical events and their aftermath; a strong addition to middle grade collections in need of historical fiction.-Rebecca Quinones, Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
A month after the 1871 Great Chicago Fire, orphans Ailis and Quinn struggle with the deaths of their parents and little sister in a fire that destroyed their Wisconsin farm and to survive their harsh treatment in the miserable Chicago boardinghouse where they work basically as indentured servants. The bright spot in their lives is six-year-old fellow displaced orphan Nettie, who inspires the siblings to find a way out of the boardinghouse so the three can be a family. Ailis gets a job in a millinery shop with kindly Ida Muench; Quinn plays his violin and busks for money, quite successfully. Up to this point the novel is poignant and realistic, but then Nettie is kidnapped by an evil extermination company and forced to catch rats in the sewers, andoff we go into over-the-top territory, never to return. A Little Princess-level happy ending comes quickly after all the struggle and angst, but readers invested in narrator Ailis's story will rejoice in the children's good fortune and approve of the new hodgepodge family they build together. An author's note provides more information on the Peshtigo, Wisconsin, firestorm and the Great Chicago Fire, child labor, and society in the mid-nineteenth century; a bibliography completes the book. martha v. parravano (c) Copyright 2017. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
The Peshtigo Fire is the deadliest in recorded history, completely destroying the Wisconsin town and claiming as many as 2,500 lives, but it is largely forgotten because it happened on the same day as the Great Chicago Fire: Oct. 8, 1871.Irish-immigrant siblings Ailis and Quinn Doyle survive the Peshtigo firestorm by jumping in the Menominee River. Orphaned and homeless, they go to live in a boardinghouse in Chicago, still reeling from its own catastrophic inferno. The investigation into the fires origin centers on Catherine OLeary, suspected of arson, inflaming anti-Irish sentiment among many in the city, including Miss Franny, who runs the boardinghouse and resents having to shelter the two refugees. Ailis and Quinn anglicize their names to Alice and Steven Smith when applying for work and befriend the nave 9-year-old orphan Nettie, who was displaced by the Chicago fire. When she mysteriously disappears, their investigation puts them in touch with the wealthy boardinghouse owner and a reporter investigating child labor. Ailis narrates, her outsider position convincingly realized as she navigates this city of immigrants. The mystery surrounding Netties disappearance makes for compelling reading, as does the storys historical backdrop. Hilmos authors note explains her inspiration for the story and puts it in historical context. A good mix of history and mystery enlivened with interesting, likable characters. (Historical fiction. 10-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Orphaned by the deadly firestorm that destroyed their Peshtigo, Wisconsin, home in 1871, 12-year-old Ailis and her brother, Quinn, are living in Miss Franny's boarding house in Chicago. There they befriend six-year-old Nettie, whose orphanage was destroyed in the city's recent fire. Hoping to escape from their vindictive landlady, who hates the Irish, Ailis takes a job in a shop, while Quinn becomes a street musician. When Nettie is kidnapped and sent into the sewers to catch rats, they are determined to rescue her but how? Written from Ailis' point of view, the first-person narrative has the earnest tone of a resourceful, resolute girl shouldering the responsibility for herself and those she loves. Quinn realistically chafes at his sister's protective, motherly authority, but seems to realize that she can't bear to lose her last family member. The many realistic details of their daily lives will help draw readers into the story. Whether woven into the novel or included in the appended author's note, the Peshtigo and Chicago fire-related information is intriguing. A well-researched and well-imagined historical novel.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2016 Booklist